Foundation garment



Aug. 23, 1955 M. A. GAMBONI 2,715,732

FOUNDATION GARMENT Filed June 6. 1951 INVENTOR MA T/LDE 4. GA MBO/V/ BY mm ATTORNEY United States Patent 0 FGUNDATION GARMENT Matilde A. Gamboni, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application June 6, 1951, Serial No. 230,200

5 Clm'ms. (Ci. 2-30) This invention relates to an improved womans undergarment of the type generally referred to as a foundation garment and particularly to a two-piece garment which will support both the hips and abdominal areas of the body as well as the bust of the wearer in a manner which will provide the wearer the support and smooth external appearance of a one-piece foundation garment and at the same time will afford the comfort and convenience of a separate girdle and brassiere combination.

One-piece foundation garments while affording support for the wearers figure from the breast area to the hips and thighs, are troublesome and inconvenient to wear in the usual routine of the wearers day. On the other hand, while separate girdle and brassiere combinations are more comfortable and convenient to wear, they, nevertheless, do not afford any support for the area of the wearers body between the top of the girdle and the bottom of the brassiere, which usually results in a bulging of the flesh between the two garments and particularly above the girdle top, thus creating an unsightly effect far from the smooth external appearance afforded by one-piece foundation garments. This last mentioned disadvantage of the separate brassiere and girdle combination is even more apparent in the event the wearer in inclined to be stout.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention to construct a foundation garment having the aforementioned advantages of both one-piece foundation garments and separate girdle-brassiere combinations while at the same time eliminating the disadvantages of each.

A further object of the invention is to construct a two-piece combination foundation garment having means for detachably connecting the upper body or brassiere portion of the garment to the lower body or girdle portion of the garment, both of which portions may be separately put on, fastened to each other and separately removed if desired, whereby the smooth body contour effect of a one-piece foundation garment and the convenience of a separate girdle-brassiere combination are both attained in the same garment.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a two-piece combination foundation garment with separable fastener means arranged and constructed in a novel manner so as to permit each piece to be separately and easily applied to the body and to thereafter be detachably secured to each other in a manner which affords the completely applied foundation garment the smooth contour effect heretofore only secured in a one-piece foundation garment.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention may be embodied in the forms illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that changes may be made in the specific constructions illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claims is not violated.

2,715,732 Patented Aug. 23, 1955 In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this application,

Figure l is a front view in perspective of the twopiece combination foundation garment as it will appear when being worn; and

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the back and one side of the garment as it will appear when being worn and disclosing a modified arrangement of the detachable fasteners.

Like characters of reference are used throughout the following specification and the accompanying drawings to designate corresponding parts.

In the embodiment of the invention here illustrated, the foundation garment is formed of a two-piece construction of novel design and arrangement and comprises an upper body confining and breast-supporting portion 19 and a girdle or lower body confining and supporting portion 11. Each of the portions 10 and 11 of the combination garment are adapted to be separately put on and separately removed from the body and while they are preferably designed to be worn together, they may each be individually worn if so desired.

The upper body portion 10 is preferably formed to provide not only an adequate bust supporting and corn fining portion 12 but also an upper body supporting and confining portion which, when the garment is being worn, will confine and support the upper abdominal region, both sides and a substantial area of the back 13 of the wearer above the waistline or top of the girdle portion 11. The upper body portion 10 therefore differs from the conventional brassiere in providing this additional and important upper body support and control which will effectively confine the wearers body in a region where no support and confinement exists in separate girdle brassiere combinations of the conventional type.

The upper body encircling portion 10 is vertically divided at 14 and provided with a separable fastener, preferably of the slide fastener type, for easily bringing the adjoining edges of the portion 19 together in proper form fitting and supporting position. Any suitable form of shoulder straps may be employed and attached to the upper body portion 10 in any conventional manner or the same may be of the strapless type properly supported by conventional means.

To facilitate putting on and removing of the girdle or lower body supporting and confining portion 11 the same is vertically divided as at 15 from its upper edge downward for a limited distance and a detachable fastener of the slide fastener type is employed to bring the two edges smoothly together.

The upper and lower body supporting and confining portions 10 and 11 are detachably connected together along their abutting edges preferably by a separable fastener 16 of the conventional slide fastener type which will completely fasten the two parts of the combination garment together around the entire body of the wearer, as will be apparent from the drawings.

The separable fasteners 14 and 15 of the two portions 10 and 11 are for convenience preferably arranged in vertical alignment and may be centrally disposed of their respective portions as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings for easy access thereto, or the two vertically disposed fasteners may be arranged at the side of the garments as shown in Fig. 2 at 14 and 15. All three of the fasteners 14, 15 and 16 will be constructed and applied to the garments in conventional manner and arranged to have all of their sliders disposed at the junction of the fasteners when the garment is assembled on the wearers body with all fasteners in closed position.

The material of either portion of the foundation garment does not form a part of the present invention, but may consist of any suitable elastic or inelastic fabric, or

of a-combination of elastic and inelastic materials as.

are-common1y-employed in foundation garments-and may include panels, inserts and the like depending upon the particular style and form of garment desired.

It'will be appreciated thatthetwo-piece foundation garment is designed to have each of its-portions-teasily and separatelyput on, adjustedinto proper position 'on the-body, firmly fastened in confining relation to t the body and then connected to each other to obtain all the advantages" of a one-piece foundation garment, by virtue of-the particular construction and arrangement of elements' including the three slide fasteners. Furthermore, the completely assembled and fastened garment may easily" have either 'portion' thereof removed without distu'rbingthe other'portion so that the convenience of separate brassiere and girdle-combinations is additionally-attained.

"I- claim:

1. A'two -partfoundation garment comprising a vertically-divided upper body supporting and confining por-,

tion, '2. separable fastener means forbringing the two verticallydisposed edges of said portion together to completely encircle thewearers body when the fastener is closed; saidupper body supporting and confining portion providing firm support for the bust, the upper abdominal area, bothsides, and'a substantial area of the back of the wearer when inadjusted position, a lower body supporting and confiningportion encircling the thighs, hips and lower abdominal area when'being worn, the upper body supporting and confining portion having its entire lower edgedisposed adjacent to and abutting the entire upper edge of thelower body supporting and confining portion when-both of said body portions are in-proper position on the wearers body, a separable fastener means for. separably attaching the entire lower edge of the entire upper body portion to the upper edge of the lower body-portion, whereby eachbody portion of the foundation garment may'beseparately and easily put on, adjusted and fastened in position and then fastened to each other to form a foundation garment having the smooth external contour and complete body support of a onepiece' foundation garment.

2. A'two-part foundation garment comprising a vertically divided upper body'supporting and confining portion,a separable fastener means for'bringing the two vertically disposed edges of said portion together to completely encircle the wearers body when the fastener is closed, said upper body supporting'and confining porttion providing fi-rmsupport for'the bust, the upper abdomin'al area,both sides, and a substantial areaof the back of the wearer when in adjusted position, a lower body supporting and confining portion encircling the thighs, hips and lower abdominal area when being worn, said last mentioned-body portion being divided from its upper edge downwardly to the vicinity of the hip portion thereof, a separable fastener means for bringing together the separated edges of said'last mentioned body portion and closing the divided area thereof, the upper body supporting and confining portion having its entire lower edge disposed adjacent to. and abutting the entire upper edge of the lower body supporting and confining portion when both of saidbody portions are in proper position on the wearers body, a separable fastener means for separably attaching the entire lower edge of the upper body portion to the entire upper edge of the lower body portion, whereby each body portion of the foundation garment may be separately and easily put on, ad-

justed and fastened in position and then fastened to each other to form a foundation garment having the smooth external contour and complete body support of a one-piece foundation garment.

3. The subject matter of claim 2 wherein the separable fastener means for bringing together'the two edgesof the upper body portion and the separable fastener means for bringing together the separated edges of the lower body-portion are each vertically and centrally disposed with reference to their respective portions.

4. The subject matter of claim 2 wherein the separable fastener means for bringing together the two'edges of the upper body portion and the separable fastener means for bringing together the separated edges of the-slit lower body portion are arranged in vertical alignment.

5. The subject matter of claim 4 wherein all three separable fastener means are of the slide fastener type and arranged so that when the two-piece foundation garment is .in fastened position on the wearers body the sliders of thethen closed fasteners will all be disposed at the junction point'of the three separable fasteners.

References Cited in the file of this: patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,545,245 Frankel July 7, 1925 2,108,094 Abeles Feb. 15, 1938 2,118,592 Davis May 24, 1938 2,142,479 Rosenfelder Jan. 3; 1939 2,180,180 Versoy Nov. 14, 1939 2,544,432 Morano Mar. 6,1951 2,599,302 Von Thaden June 3, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS "810,781 France Jan. 6, 1937 

